Rihla
Book 13
Andalucia 1349 - 1350
A
short trip to the Frontier in Andalucia
Rihla
13, 1349
Tangier 1349
The
Bay of Tangier at night.
Photo: Aires
Santos, BMI- trekearth.com
After
I had been privileged to observe this noble majesty and to share in
the all-embracing bounty of his beneficence, I set out to visit the
tomb of my mother. I arrived at my home town of Tangier and visited
her grave, and went on to the town of Sabta [Ceuta].
Rihla
13, 1349
Sabta-Ceuta 1349
The
Bay of Ceuta
Photo Xavier
A. Rivera, Panoramio
I
stayed for some months in Sabta [Ceuta], because I suffered from an
illness for three months, but after-wards God restored me to health.
I then proposed to take part in the jihad and the defence of
the frontier, so I crossed the sea from Ceuta in a barque belonging
to the people of Asila [Arzila], and reached the land of Andalusia
(may God Almighty guard her!)
This was after the death of the
Christian tyrant Adfunus [Alphonso XI.] and his ten-months' siege of
the Jebel [Gibraltar], when he thought that he would capture all that
the Muslims still retain of Andalusia; but God took him whence he did
not reckon, and he, who of all men stood in the most mortal terror of
the plague, died of it.
Rihla
13, 1349-1350
Jebel Tariq, The Mount
of Conquest, Gibraltar 1349/50
Aerial
Photo of the Rock of Gibraltar, Ceuta on the African Coast in the
distance.
Photo virtualtourist.com
The
first place in Andalusia that I reached was the Mount of Conquest,
the citadel of Islam, an obstruction stuck in the throats of the
infidels.
I walked around the mountain and saw the marvellous
works executed on it by our master [the late Sultan of Morocco]
Abu'l-Hasan and the armament with which he equipped it, together with
the additions made by our master [Abu 'Inan], may God strengthen him,
and I should have liked to remain as one of its defenders to the end
of my days.
From here began the great conquest [of Spain by
the Arabs], and at it disembarked Tariq ibn Ziyad, the freedman of
Musa ibn Nusayr in 711. Its name is linked with his, and it is called
Jebel Tariq [The Mount of Tariq]. The remains of the walls built by
Tariq and his army are still in existence; they are known as the Wall
of the Arabs, and I myself have seen them during my stay there at the
time of the siege of Algeciras (may God restore it to Islam
[Algeciras would soon fall to the Christian Requistadores].
I
went out of Gibraltarto the town of Ronda.
Rihla
13 1349-1350
Ronda
Ronda,
the bridge connecting its two parts
Photo igreens.org.uk
Ronda
is one of the strongest and most beautifully situated fortresses of
the Muslims. The qadi there was my cousin, the doctor Abu'l-Qasim
Muhammad b. Yahya Ibn Battuta. I stayed at Ronda for five days, then
went on to the town of Marbala [Marbella].
After
his parents' deaths and his long absence this visit to his cousin was
probably the main reason for Battuta's short trip to Al-Andalus. - I
cannot see him defending Gibraltar, but during the siege of Alceiras
this vow was good propaganda for himself and his benefactor in Fez.
Rihla
13, 1349-1350
Marbella
The
town of Marbella from the beach
Photo marbellaandalucia.com
From
Ronda I went on to the town of Marbala [Marbella]. The road between
these two places is difficult and exceedingly rough. Marbala is a
pretty little town in a fertile district. I found there a company of
horsemen setting out for Malaqa, and intended to go in their company,
but God by His grace preserved me, for they went on ahead of me and
were captured on the way by the Christians.
I set out after
them, and when I had traversed the district of Marbala, and entered
the diftrict of Suhayl I passed a dead horse lying in the ditch, and
a little farther on a pannier of fish thrown on the ground. This
aroused my suspicions. In front of me there was a watchtower, and I
said to myself, "If an enemy were to appear here, the man on the
tower would give the alarm." So I went on to a house
thereabouts.
There they tell him of the
fate of the horsemen he had wanted to join. - A little drama to liven
up his account.
...The Christians had killed one of
them, one had escaped, and ten were taken prisoner. A fisherman was
killed along with them, and it was he whose basket I had found lying
on the road.
On the morrow the guard rode with me and we
reached Malaqa [Malaga]
Rihla
13, 1349-1350
Malaqa-Malaga
Malaga
today. The big circular structure is the bull ring.
Photo
europeancheaoflights.com
Malaqa
is one of the largest and most beautiful towns of Andalusia. It
unites the conveniences of both sea and land, and is abundantly
supplied with foodstuffs and fruits. I saw grapes being sold in its
bazaars at the rate of eight pounds for a small dirham, and its
ruby-coloured Murcian pomegranates have no equal. As for figs and
almonds, they are exported from Malaqa and its outlying districts to
the lands both of the East and the West.
At Malaqa they
manufacture excellent gilded pottery, which is exported thence to the
most distant lands. Its mosque covers a large area and has a
reputation for sanctity; the court of the mosque is of unequalled
beauty, and contains exceptionally tall orange trees.
I found
the qadi sitting in the great mosque, along with the doctors of the
law and the principal inhabitants, all engaged in collecting money to
ransom the prisoners of whom we have spoken.
Thence I went to
on the city of Gharnata [Granada] the metropolis of Andalusia and the
bride of its cities.
Rihla
13, 1349-1350
Gharnata-Granada
House
in the former Arab quarter of Granada. The oldest part of the
Alhambra is visible in the background.
Photo RWFG
Granada
is surrounded on every side by orchards, gardens, flowery meads,
noble buildings, and vineyards. One of the most beautiful places
there is 'Ayn ad-dama' [the Fountain of Tears, Adinamar], which is a
hill covered with gardens and orchards
The king of Gharnata
at the time of my visit was Sultan Abu'l-Hajjaj Yusuf. I did not meet
him on account of an illness [as a consequence he did not see the
Alhambra from the inside].
I met at Gharnata a number of its
distinguished scholars and the principal Shaykh, who is also the
superior of the Sufi orders. Among them is a company of Persian
darwishes, who have made their homes there because of its resemblance
to their native lands. One is from Samarqand, another from Tabriz, a
third from Quniya [Konia], one from Khurasan, two from India, and so
on.
On leaving Gharnata I travelled back through Malaqa,
Ronda and on to Gibraltar, where I embarked on the ship by which I
had crossed before.
The
Rihla 1349
Marrakush-Marrakesh
Marrakesh,
the Koutubiya after the rain
Photo
Le Casablancais Panoramio
The
souks of Marrakech
Photo
Roger-11, Panoramio
Marrakush
is one of the most beautiful of cities, spaciously built and
extending over a wide area, with abundant supplies. It contains
magnificent mosques, such as its principal mosque, known as the
Mosque of the Kutubiyin [the Booksellers]. There is a marvellously
tall minaret there; I climbed it and obtained a view of the whole
town from it.
The town is now largely in ruins, so that I
could compare it only to Baghdad, though the bazaars in Baghdad are
finer.